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Join myself and Michael Cockerill of the newly launched MindFrame(s) podcast as we create a Holiday Gift Guide for Screen Anarchy. Part 1 looks at home entertainment gifts from boutique labels. Scream Factory offers up an outstanding Candyman special edition, Blue Underground has released a fantastic 4K upgrade of Zombie and Arrow Video gives us an awesome edition of John Landis' little-seen first pic Schlock. Severin pulls Horror of Party Beach, an equally obscure title, into beautifully restored shape, and Cinelicious Pics sent their entire catalog! Belladonna of Sadness, The Last Movie, Private Property, Gangs of Wasseypur, Funeral Parade of Roses, and two from Agnes Varda starring Jane Birkin. All come highly recommended depending on the taste of the cinephile you are buying them for....

Amazon PrimeA brilliant cast of actors led by Pankaj Tripathi is let down by an inconsistent script and indulgent direction.Saraswati DatarThe name 'Mirzapur' traces its etymology back to the Persian words Emir (commander ) and Zad ( lineage) and literally translates to ‘place of a king’. It’s an apt title for Amazon Prime’s third made-in-India original, produced by Excel Media and Entertainment, that tells the story of a powerful overlord trying to rule his fiefdom while consolidating control for his heir apparent. Directed by Karan Anshuman, Mihir Desai, and Gurmmeet Singh, Mirzapur boasts of an enviable ensemble cast and a story that on paper, has all the ingredients for another small town crime potboiler. It’s an interesting ‘othering’ of small town India as a hotbed of crime and all things immoral and rather perversely exotic, for a largely urban audience watching it on a digital platform.

KollywoodFrom the colourful curses of the street to each of the characters, the film gives us a very real glimpse of gang wars.Sowmya RajendranVada Chennai is possibly the most ambitious Tamil film till date, if you consider the generous expanse of its canvas. The gangster genre is quite popular in Kollywood, given that it lends itself to “mass” action scenes and suspense, but seldom has a director dug his heels in so firmly and told the story he wants to tell without striking a compromise. Bollywood had Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur in 2012 and more recently, the Netflix series Sacred Games wove in the history of Mumbai through the rise and fall of its gangster groups. So too, Vada Chennai documents North Madras – its gullies and lanes, its dialects and politics – through warring factions. The film has a non-linear plot and at times, the changes in timeline can be confusing,

KollywoodIn this interview to Tnm, the director talks about the importance of the game carrom in 'Vada Chennai', its women and his thoughts on the Me Too movement.Anjana ShekarOf the several promos that the makers of Vada Chennai have released so far, one of it has Anbu (played by Dhanush) saying, “If defending oneself is called rowdyism, then we’ll do it.” This probably sets the tone for Vetrimaaran’s upcoming film that aspires to tell the story of a few characters from Chennai’s oldest neighbourhood. Director Vetrimaaran’s most ambitious project has been set in motion. With the first part of his gangster trilogy, Vada Chennai, hitting the screens on Wednesday, Tnm caught up with the director for a quick chat. Here is an excerpt from the interview. Vada Chennai has been in the making for close to a decade now. Did the story evolve

Currently in production, the film will comprise four short stories that tackle different issues that have plagued India since independence. The title of the film is taken from a famous speech by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, to the country’s parliament on the eve of independence on August 14, 1947.

Ukrainian filmmaker Dar Gai, whose “Namdev Bhau in Search of Silence” has its world premiere in Busan’s A Window on Asian Cinema strand, has had a fascinating passage to India. The philosophy major spent 10 years acting, directing and organizing festivals in Ukraine. While she was familiar with Western culture, the east was yet to be conquered. So she fired off resumes to schools in China, Japan and India. Soon an invitation letter arrived from the prestigious Scindia School for boys, in Gwalior, central India, to teach theatre and German.

“India became a major source of inspiration for my scripts,” said Gai. “I remember the time when I was coming up with at least three feature film ideas every day. I felt a strong sense of connection with the Indian culture. I felt at home.

But who knows really, maybe I would have been shooting a Japanese film right now

Phantom recently produced the series “Sacred Games” for Netflix, with Motwane as showrunner; he also co-directed with Kashyap. Motwane was recently announced as showrunner for the show’s second season, with Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan as co-directors. It is not immediately clear how the Phantom dissolution will affect the fate of “Sacred Games.”

Kashyap is a familiar figure at Busan with several of his films showcased at the festival. He served on the New Currents jury in 2015.

Phantom was formed in 2011 as a collective of like-minded filmmakers. Phantom’s debut production was 2013’s “Lootera,” directed by Motwane. Bahl’s “Queen” was a breakout feminist hit in 2013 and Kashyap’s “Ugly” was a Cannes selection the same year.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Japanese composer who will this week be honored as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year in Busan, will head the jury for the best original score prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. It is the first time that the APSAs, now in their 12th edition, present a best original score prize.

Sakamoto was previously the 2012 recipient of the Apsa Fiapf award, and performed extracts from “Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence” at the Brisbane prize ceremony. Also on the jury are Indian composer and music director Sneha Khanwalkar (“Gangs of Wasseypur”) and Australian composer, conductor and musician Nigel Westlake (“Babe,” “Paper Planes”).

Bombay in 1946 was an epicentre for the cry for freedom from the British Raj. Lots of now famous and some infamous things happened during this time. One of these is the story of the biopic of the Urdu Bollywood scriptwriter Saadat Hasan Manto, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Manto, written,directed and produced by Nandita Das, tells his story through the eyes of those around him. This film has already been acclaimed at Cannes and was recently released to Indian audiences on the 21st of September.

The music direction of the movie has been given to Sneha Khanwalkar. Already well known for the Gangs of Wasseypur franchise and Detective Bymokesh Bakshy! amongst others, her gritty and real-life music is often perfect for the period, without needing to take the audience back to it. In this film its important to realise that the music is pre-Lata Mangeshkar when the giants were Shamshad Begum and Noor Jehan,

“Old-fashioned love stories need an update,” sings a character in Husband Material (Manmarziyaan), and this thought kick-starts director Anurag Kashyap’s rollicking if predictable rom-com, where all the expected notes are hit up to the guaranteed happy ending. Unlike the director’s gangster epic Gangs of Wasseypur or even his recent boxer drama, The Brawler, it lacks the critical attitude and sustained invention to hold the attention over a long-winded two-and-a-half hours. A social critique regarding women’s position in society flows underground, and ultimately the pic seems aimed at local under-30-year-olds who have a stake in updating traditional Indian ...

KollywoodDirected by Vetri Maaran of 'Aadukalam' and 'Visaaranai' fame, the duo is joining together once again for this gangster trilogy. Tnm StaffThe official teaser of Dhanush’s Vada Chennai was released on his birthday, July 28. Directed by Vetri Maaran of Aadukalam and Visaaranai fame, the duo is joining together for the fifth time for this gangster trilogy. The one-minute trailer with a very slow-beat sinister gangsta’ music gives us a good glimpse of the characters in Vada Chennai. Dhanush is seen as a youngster with a funky hairstyle wearing prints from perhaps the seventies or eighties. Samuthiraakani, too, is seen sporting a hairstyle that was probably the fad a few decades ago. The trailer progresses and Dhanush is seen is different looks - with a beard, with a shorter beard, with shorter hair. Aishwarya Rajesh appears to be one of the women he falls in love with. Andrea is also

Streaming giant, Netflix will bow its first Indian original horror series “Ghoul” on Aug. 24. The three episodes will be available to the service’s 125 million subscribers in 190 countries, including India.

“Ghoul” is a thrilling horror series, both frightening and insightful. Its high production value, a chilling performance from Radhika Apte, and quality writing are sure to scare Indian and global audiences alike,” said Simran Sethi, director, Netflix International Originals.

Apte is also one of the stars of the first Netflix India original series “Sacred Games” that released

British comedy “Eaten By Lions” has won the top prize at the 9th Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival in London, Birmingham and Manchester, the UK and Europe’s largest platform of independent cinema from the Indian subcontinent. The festival is title sponsored by the Bagri Foundation who share our passion for Asian arts and culture, with major support from Grange Hotels, Integrity International Trust and Sun Mark Ltd, and is funded by grant support from the BFI’s National Lottery Audience Fund.

LIFFs annual Audience Award for Best Film went to British comedy “Eaten By Lion”. The director Jason Wingard says: “We’re delighted to win this fantastic award. “Eaten By Lions” is a modern relevant comedy dealing with contemporary issues such as diversity and disability, but ultimately captures that life is about relationships and people, and we’re so pleased audiences are connecting with it. It was fantastic

Another successful year for the London Indian Film Festival (Liff), with a great collection of films all vying for the ultimate accolade, to be crowned the audience’s favourite movie. Despite some stiff competition, the winner of the Audience Award for Best Film at the festival was Eaten by Lions – a British comedy about two half-brothers who are brought up by their grandma, after their parents are accidentally killed by lions in a safari park. Set in Bradford, the story then follows the aftermath of their Gran’s sudden death which leaves the teenagers looking for family to take them in.

The director of Eaten by Lions, Jason Wingard said, “We’re delighted to win this fantastic award. Eaten By Lions is a modern, relevant comedy dealing with contemporary issues such as diversity and disability, but ultimately captures that life is about relationships and people, and we’re so pleased audiences are connecting with it.

Saif Ali Khan (Rangoon) stars in the eight-episode series as Sartaj Singh, a seasoned, cynical police officer. He and Anjali Mathur (Radhika Apte), an intelligence officer, journey to the center of a mysterious web woven by the powerful criminal overlord, Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). The plot twists and turns along the dark alleys of Mumbai, with Ganesh and Sartaj tightening their grip on each other and staking everything on victory, including the city itself.

Kashyap is arguably the country’s best known indie director. His Raman Raghav 2.0 played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2016, following in

KollywoodThe news has not been announced officially yet.Digital NativeIt has already been confirmed that superstar Rajinikanth’s next film after Kaala will be with Karthik Subbaraj. In February this year, Sun Pictures officially announced that they’re proud to be associated with Rajinikanth’s next film with Karthik Subbaraj. In April, they confirmed that they have signed up Vijay Sethupathi for a crucial role in the film. According to the industry grapevine, it is learnt that Simran and Bobby Simhaa are the new entrants to the project. While an official confirmation is awaited, the news about them being signed is making waves. Both Vijay Sethupathi and Bobby Simhaa are very close to Subbaraj, and have worked with the Pizza filmmaker on multiple occasions. It was previously reported that Bollywood's Nawazuddin Siddiqui had been approached for playing the antagonist and Karthik is said to have met and pitched the story to Nawazuddin while promoting his film Mercury in Mumbai. But, the Gangs of Wasseypur star did not to give his nod. Later, it was announced that Vijay Sethupathy has been roped in to play the main antagonist in the film. Speaking about coming on board, in his latest interview to a Tamil daily, Vijay Sethupathi said he trusts Karthik Subbaraj blindly and hence signed the project without even reading the script. Rajinikanth currently awaits the release of Kaala, which has been directed by Pa. Ranjith and it’s his second time collaboration with the superstar after Kabali. The film, confirmed to hit the screens on June 7, is believed to revolve around the lives of oppressed Tamils in Mumbai and their fight for equality. Produced by Dhanush, Kaala also stars Nana Patekar, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Huma Qureshi and Samuthirakani in pivotal roles. Shankar’s 2.0, a sequel to Enthiran, was supposed to originally hit the screens on April 27. The release of the magnum opus, rumoured to be made on a lavish budget of Rs. 450 crore, has been deferred once again owing to high VFX work. (Content provided by Digital Native) Also read: How small town Malayalam films like 'Ee.Ma.Yau' are winning new fans for Malayalam cinema

“My stories are mirrors for society to see itself,” asserts author Saadat Hasan Manto (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), on trial for obscenity. Dramatizing Manto’s struggles as he excoriates humanity during the most tumultuous time on the Indian Subcontinent, actress-filmmaker Nandita Das’ “Manto” is elegant and old school, epic without losing sight of the personal. However, Das’ heavily expository style is almost too respectable to do justice to the scathing and sexually provocative nature of Manto’s short stories, considered some of the most powerful in the Urdu language. Siddiqui, the chameleon actor of “The Lunchbox” and “Gangs of Wasseypur” gives a tour-de-force portrayal of the writer’s intellect as well as his very human flaws.

“Manto” could garner support among the educated bourgeois crowd in India and Pakistan who likely know the protagonist’s life and oeuvre well; the film’s high-mindedness might not be as readily appreciated by general audiences abroad.

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